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“We’re looking for theBook of the Keepers. Apparently my mother used it as some kind of grimoire?” The question trailed from my lips as I watched Elan for any reaction, a hopeful breath hanging in my lungs.
He sighed and handed his empty glass to his son who took it without question. Running a tan hand through his dark hair, Elan shook his head. “Unfortunately, I cannot help you. When my mate disappeared, so did the book. We were hoping you knew where it was or had an inkling as to its whereabouts.”
“We’ve been unable to locate it for the past two decades. The last person to have seen it was your mother, child. Imagine our distress over its disappearance. We hoped to find it and keep it safe for the next keeper, but it has been lost to us these many long years,” Ashkii added.
“Fuck,” Axel whispered as my heart dropped to the ground.
“That puts us right back where we started.” Dason scrubbed a hand down his face with a grunt. “Is there anything useful you can share that may help Lorn find it? Anything you can think of?”
“I have my theories.” Elan steepled his fingers together, raising one brow.
The puzzle came together easily. “You think the warlocks have it.”
“They took my mate. It only makes sense they’re the ones who have the grimoire. Besides” —Elan stood, straightening his crisp shirt— “if they were somehow able to access the contents, it would explain how they’ve been able to summon shades into the mortal realm to wreak havoc. It’s simply another declaration of war.”
Dason narrowed his eyes, but he didn’t comment or reveal what we knew about our enemy. He played his cards close to his chest.
But Elan was wrong.
Our enemy wasn’t a warlock.
He was one of us.
A shadow touched.
I kept my lips shut, trusting Dason’s judgment to keep such information to ourselves. It would be my word against Elan’s anyway.
“You don’t need to worry about what Elan speaks of. We’ll take care of our relationships with other supernaturals. That’s not for the veil keeper to worry about,” Ashkii reassured me, though it had the opposite effect.
I offered him a tight smile, but I had no plans to heed his advice. The relationship between the witching world and the shadow touched mattered to me more than most, aided by the fact that both races were etched into my DNA.
I’d be living between both worlds, after all, because once I saved my father, he’d take his place back on the High Coven with Darbonne and any other warlocks who stood against Kingston, the warlock’s current leader.
The last thing I needed was for the elders to take matters into their own hands and make tensions worse. There’d been enough bloodshed on both sides of this fight, and neither side was right in their viewpoints and opinions.
Besides, if I wanted to learn more about what had happened to my mother, I needed the people who’d known her personally.
I tuned back into Ashkii before I missed his instructions.
“We’d like you to work on learning our ways and strengthening your magick so you can aid us in vanquishing the shades that are making it into our realm. Once you have a good handle on your magick, we can meet again to discuss your role among us in more detail.”
“Of course.” I stood, and Jolon let me go, moving to stand right behind me. “Thank you for taking the time to meet with me today.” I took Ashkii’s hand, and he covered it with his other one, sandwiching it between his worn palms.
“The pleasure was all mine, though I apologize for all the news we dealt you. It’s been an honor to meet our next veil keeper.” He bent his head before releasing me and moving to shake Jolon’s and Syler’s hands next.
“Lorn,” Elan called in parting, capturing my hand between his, brushing his lips over the back before releasing me.
My heart wouldn’t settle as we said our goodbyes and Elan and Ashkii excused themselves through a portal.
“You held your own with the elders, my father included,” Tye observed, looking mildly impressed where he stood on the other side of the fire. I doubted he was dazzled by much, so I took his praise as a compliment. “You did well.”
“Barely.” I sent him a pointed look. Had he just sat through the same gathering I had? “But I feel like that’s my life lately. Moving pawns in a blind game of chess.”
“Perhaps.” He sauntered around the fire, drawing closer, and I stepped away from my guys to meet him halfway, though I felt their hesitancy as much as I heard their grumbles. They didn’t want me near this unmated male, but there was something about Tye I couldn’t deny. His dark energy was addicting. “Just remember,” Tye murmured, leaning closer to whisper in my ear, his warm breath tickling along my neck, “in this game, you’re the queen. You control the board.”
I shamelessly watched him walk away, create a portal, and disappear through it, and just before it closed, I could have sworn I heard his voice as the faintest whisper. “It’s your move now.”
I rubbed my chest, feeling all out of sorts as I turned to face my guys.
